Engines utilize lubrication systems to lubricate moving parts, improve sealing, inhibit corrosion, and cool a number of components in the engine. However, the oil in the lubrication system may overheat causing the oil viscosity to decrease and engine temperature to increase. As a result, engine operation may be degraded.
Therefore, engine cooling systems have been developed to cool the lubrication system as well as the cylinder block and/or cylinder head in an engine. Specifically, liquid to liquid oil coolers are utilized in engines to decrease the temperature of the oil as well as the combustion chambers in the engine. In some engines, to remove heat from both the engine and the oil, engine coolant is routed in series through the engine and subsequently through a liquid to liquid heat exchanger in the lubrication system or vice-versa and then routed to a radiator where heat is transferred to the surrounding environment. Parallel arrangements may also be used where engine cooling is directed in parallel through the lubrication system, then to the engine, and then to a radiator.
However, the Inventors have recognized several drawbacks with the aforementioned types of cooling systems. When engine coolant is routed in series through the engine and the lubrication system, a desired amount of engine cooling and/or oil cooling may not be achieved. Furthermore, when engine coolant is routed in parallel through the engine and oil, the size of the radiator is increased, thereby increasing the size and cost of the engine.
As such, in one approach an engine lubrication system is provided, where the system includes an oil pan housing a lubricant, an oil pump having a pick-up tube including an inlet submerged in the lubricant, and a heat pipe assembly including a fluidly sealed heat pipe coupled to the oil pan adjacent to the inlet of the pick-up tube.
In this way, heat may be removed from the oil in the oil pan via a passive heat pipe, with the heat removal pin-pointed to a location where such heat removal is most needed. As a result, the temperature of the oil entering the pick-up tube may be decreased, thereby reducing the likelihood of oil degradation and engine overheating.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.